Bookcase



No. vaaeezi.v

UNITED STATES Patented January 12, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

DUGAL CREE AND HERMAN DICKSON,OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNORS TOTHE CREE DICKSON MANUFACTURING COMPANY,

OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

BOOKCASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 749,264, dated January12, 1904.

Application filed February 24, 1902. Serial No. 95,248. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern: W Be it known that we, DUeAL CREE and HER-MAN DIoKsoN, of the city of Minneapolis,`

county of Hennepin, and State of Minnesota, have invented'new and usefulImprovements in Bookcases; and we do hereby declare the h, following tobe a full, clear, and exact description thereof, such as will' enablethose skilled `in the art to which our invention appertains to properlyconstruct the same. Our invention relates to bookcases wherein ma numberof separable cabinet-sections are grouped to form cabinets of variableproportions, usually styled sectional bookcasesf and our inventionconsists, first, in providing `the doors of our cabinet-sections thatthose ofA the lower and intermediate sections vwill close both under andupon the lower edges of those of the cabinet-sections next above them.Thus we have but one horizontal jointto each comi "ss our invention.

partment.

`In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in. perspective of atier of our cabinetsections, the `upper section thereof being removed.,Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of a tier of sections constructed inaccordance with Fig. Bis a fragmentary sectional view of the adjacentedges of two of the cabinet-sections, the door of the upper sectionbeing shown in lowered position. Fig. 4 is a section taken on linc 4 4of Fig. 3. Fig. 5" is a fragmentary view in perspective of the lowerportion of one of the cabinet-sections, and Fig. (i is a fragmentaryview in perspective of the "upper portion of one of thecabinet-sections.

` Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A` indicates an upper cabinetsection; B, a lower cabinet;` C, theintermediate cabinet-secr tions, and D the hinge for hanging the doors.`The upper cabinet-section A consists ofthe end pieces a; the back piecethe top piece c, and the bottom pieces d, the latter consisting of twoslats, all of which are rigidly affixed together, forming a receptaclefor books and the like. The lower cabinet-section B consists of the endpieces a2, the back piece b2, the bottom piece d 2, and the top piecec2, the latter consisting of one slat. The intermediate sections 4Cconstitute the greater part of our bookcase.

"as a door constructed wholly of wood might serve a like purpose; but weprefer the glazed door, as shown. To the inner side of this door g, atits end and near its lower edge, as shown in Fig. 3, is affixed the doorportion of the locking and closing hinge.

The plates /L are sunk into the end pieces of the respective sections,their outer faces being flush with the inner faces of the said endpieces. f The lower ends of these plates extend beyond the lower edgesof their respective sections andare adapted to extend over mortises m,formed in the upper edges of the lower sections, said mortises beingdeeper than the thickness of the plates L, as shown in Fig. 4,

` for purposes which will hereinafter appear.

In Fig. 4 wc show the door portion of the hinge D aflixed in place uponthe door g and the jamb portion thereof affixed in place upon the endpiece a of the upper cabinet-section A.

` Our purpose in cutting away the wood in the end piece a of thecabinet-section, as shown in Fig. 4, is to form a recess m in the rearof the plate L, into which the lower end of the said plate may bedepressed to permit of the door g being put into place on its section orremoved without removing its hinge. Thus it will be seen that our glazeddoors may be crated and shipped separate and apart from theircabinet-sections.

.It is noticeable that the slats Z and d3, which constitute the bottomsof our upper and intermediate sections, extend below the end pieces aand. a3 of their respective sections and that their ends rest in therabbeted portions cs, formed in the upper edges ofthe adjacent sections.

The slats c2 and c3, which constitute the tops of the lower andintermediate sections, extend above the end pieces a3 and a2 of theirrespective sections, and the ends thereof are received in rabbetedportions c, formed in the lower edges of the adjacent sections. It willtherefore be obvious that as these sections are piled one upon anotherto form a tier these slats forming the tops and bottoms of theirrespective sections interlock to form shelves, the single slat lyingbetween the two slats of its adjacent section to form the top of onesection. This construction prevents one cabinetsection from sliding uponanother either longitudinally or laterally. K

The doors of our cabinet-sections open downward to substantially ahorizontal position that they may serve to rest the books upon whileexamining indexes and the like. It will be further noted that theloweredge of the upper cabinet-section door, the upper edge of the lowercabinet-door, and both edges of the intermediate cabinet-section doorsare fashioned hollow and round, technically called cyma recta. rlhisconstruction forms a tight joint and prevents the entrance of dust.

Another feature of our invention is that a lower section (beingfashioned with a closed bottom and a base-molding) and an upper section(being fashioned with a top and a capmolding) when placed one uponanother constitutes a complete cabinet, and to provide additional roomfor the ever-increasing volumes it is only necessary to purchase theintermediate (cheaper) sections and pile them either singly or innumbers upon the lower section and cap them with the upper section,thereby building a single tier of the required height.

' Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A case for books or other articles, comprising a plurality ofindependent and interchangeable sections adapted to be piled one uponanother, and connected together, each of said sections consisting of endpieces, a bottorn piece, a top, a back affixed to the rear edges of thesaid end pieces, and a downwardlyopening door pivotally aflixed to theend .pieces of each section at a point below the level of the respectivesection-bottoms, said doors being fashioned with cyma-recta edgesadapted to rest upon and overlap the cymarecta upper edges of thesimilar doors belonging to the adjacent underlying sections, said doorsbeing adapted to open to a horizontal position and to serve as shelves,substantially as described.

2. In a bookcase-section, the combination with the back, top and bottompieces thereof, of the end pieces, resilient pivot-plates afiixed t othe inner faces of the said endpieces, and a door pivotally mounted inthe said pivotplates at a point below the level of the said bottom,whereby when the said door is lowered to a horizontal position its loweredge will underlie the said bottom.

3. A case for books or other articles, comprising a plurality ofindependent and interchangeable sections adapted to be piled one uponanother, each of said sections comprising a top, back, bottom and endpieces, a hinged door carried by each section, said doors being hingedat a point below the. respective bottoms of the sections, the doors whenin a closed position engaging the upper and lower edges of the adjacentdoors of the other sections, and when in an open position having theirlower edges in engagement with the respective bottoms of the sections,substantially as described.

4. The combination with a series of bookcase-sections, arranged one ontop the other, of plates secured to the ends of the said sections, saidplates projecting into the adjacent sections over recesses formed in theends thereof, and doors pivoted in the said plates.

5. A bookcase comprising a series of`sections, arranged one on top ofthe other, means for securing the said sections together, and pivoteddoors, said doors being adapted to have their lower ends engage thebottoms of their respective sections for retaining them in a horizontalposition, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. A bookcase comprising a series of sections arranged one on top theother, each section comprising back, end, top and bottom pieces, the topand bottom pieces of the several sections interlocking with one another,said end pieces having their upper portions formed with mortises, exibleplates secured to the lower edges of the said end pieces and havingtheir lower ends extending over the mortises of the adjacent sections,and doors pivoted in the lower ends of the said plates, said doors beingadapted-to have their lower edges engage the bottoms of their respectivesections when in an open position.

7. A bookcase comprising a plurality of sections arranged one on top ofthe other, the ends of said sections having their upper and lower edgesformed with rabbeted portions, and interlocking slats forming the topsand bottoms of said sections having their ends received in the saidrabbeted portions.

8. The combination in a bookcase-section of end pieces, a back pieceafxed to the rear edges of the said end pieces, the upper vand loweredges of which are flush with the upper IOO IIO

i and lower ends thereof, a top piece aHXed to pieces at a point belowthe level of the said the upper ends of the said end pieces and lyingbottom pieces, substantially as described.

partly above and partly below the upper ends DUGAL CREE. thereof, bottompieces al'LXed to the lower HERMAN DICKSON. y 5 ends" of the said endpieces and lying partly Witnesses:

below and partly above the lower ends there- F. H. NYE,

of, and a door pivotally aflixed to the said end l A. H. YOUNGS.

